When Can I Come Home
by norrific
Summary: Memory obeys the commands of the heart--Antoine Rivarol. Sequel to Beauty's Beast.
1. Memory

**I disclaim. I own nothing**

**AN: **This is the long ago promised second installment of my story Beauty's Beast. I had orginally intended for this story to be fairly short, but I realized I'm not good at keeping to my word with how long a fic will be. I'm hoping this part isn't too confusing, it shouldn't be. I had this chapter written and on my computer for about a week now, I wanted to get the second chapter finished before I posted this on, but then I got **Minamostaza's** review and decided to go ahead and post this now.

**AN: **Please tell me what you think.

* * *

_**Memory always obeys the commands of the heart**—_Antoine Rivarol

_She was quite possibly the single most beautiful thing he'd ever set eyes on. Light from the full moon slit through the blinds, obscuring and highlighting her all at once. There was a sheet draped low on her hips, leaving her so appealingly bare from the waist up. The cool night air causing goose flesh to prickle her skin. He considered pulling the sheet away and crawling into the bed with her to use his body to keep her warm. But she painted such a picture, looked so ethereally perfect, he couldn't move for fear of her disappearing._

_This could be his last moment on earth. He could be pulled into oblivion in the next ten seconds. If this would be his last memory, his only memory, he'd go happily. He didn't have to hear her voice to know it would bring him comfort. Didn't have to see her eyes to know they were beautiful. What he knew, all that he needed to know, was that he loved her. Loved her so much it consumed every inch of him._

_"Hey," There was amusement in her sleepy voice. "What are you doing all the way over there?"_

_"Watching you."_

_"And do you plan on watching me all night?"_

_Yes. All night, straight into the morning. For the rest of his life._

_As if she were use to and capable of interpreting his silences, she held out her hand and gave him a smile that just...broke something inside of him. "I'm cold. I need you here."_

_"I can't." Was that his voice, so strained. So afraid._

_"Why not?"_

_"If I move, if I touch you...you'll disappear." Like always. And he'd rather watch her and not touch her, then touch her and not have her._

_"Didn't I promise...I'll be here. Always." Her fingers wiggled a bit. "Come here."_

_He couldn't deny her, so as he moved towards her fear gripped him. Didn't realize he was holding his breath until it rushed out of him at the touch of her hand. The bed dipped with his weight, she shivered when he pressed his body against hers._

_"You're so warm." She spoke the words softly, so that they danced across the arm he slipped under her head. The other had gone around her waist to press her back more tightly to his front. "I love that you're always so warm."_

_And I love **you**. Love you. Love you. Love you. The words played over and over in his mind as he willed the world to stop, for this moment to never end. "It'll be morning soon."_

_"I don't want it to come at all."_

_"Neither do I." He spoke the words softly into her hair. "But it'll come just the same."_

_"Doesn't mean I have to like it. That I have to think about it." She shifted, rubbing her naked bottom against his groin. _

_He hardened almost instantly. "You should sleep." The words burned his throat as a voice inside of him screamed for him to just shut up and take her._

_"If I sleep morning will come." She reached back, impatiently tugging down his shorts, finding the task difficult to complete with one hand. "I don't need to sleep."_

_He could feel her heartbeat quicken, her breathing grow increasingly shallow. He wanted her so badly he thought he could taste her arousal on his tongue. "Oh God..." The groan seemed to come from the very depths of his soul as she seemed to tire of struggling with his shorts and simply reached inside to take him in her hand._

_"Please..." Her voice was a frantic plea. "Please, now."_

_And then he was inside her, thrusting in deep. Arms painfully tight around her, mouth closed over the curve of her shoulder. Holding absolutely still, savoring the feeling of completion just being inside her brought. She was so hot, so tight, so perfect it was all he could do to keep himself in check._

_In the end, she moved first; small shallow movements of her hips that snapped what little control he had. Grip tightening on her, sure to leave finger shaped bruises, the thrust of his hips growing steadily more erratic. When she turned her head, he took the offer of her mouth in a desperate kiss. He threw his leg over hers, the movement causing her to shift onto her stomach._

_Somehow one of her arms slipped out of his hold and her hand was gripping and pulling at the sheets. He reached out to to pull it back, wanting nothing more than to pull her into him. To keep her, this feeling, with him forever. Her cries grew louder, body trembling, muscles fluttering around him until..._

Lucas came awake suddenly. Sweat covering his body, chest heaving, and one look under the sheets had him falling back into the pillow with a groan. It was like he was a kid again, or at least what science told him would have happened to him as a kid. He wanted to go back to sleep, slip back into dreams of the nameless woman he fit so perfectly with. But he was hot, sticky, and amazingly still fully aroused.

Immediately he realized he was alone in the massive bedroom and found himself more then pleased. Not that it was often he woke up in bed with his wife; since coming home from the hospital he could count on one hand the number of times they woke up in bed together. Tess was usually up and out just hours after he collapsed into the bed. Which he was grateful for as most nights his dreams were consumed with a nameless blonde that brought him more pleasure then the waking time he spent with the redhead he was married to.

As he climbed out of the bed, he happily rid himself of the sticky pajamas. Another silk set ruined and destined for the trash. Admittedly he hated the pajamas, never felt comfortable in them. But his wife assured him that the expensive silk sets were what he'd slept in from the beginning of their marriage. He stripped the bed as well, making a mental note to take care of the sheets before one of the maids grabbed hold of them.

Four months he'd been home and his memory had yet to return. His brother told him to give it time, that it would all come back to him, but Lucas was finding it hard to believe. What was worse, each day that passed he became even more convinced that he did not belong. It was the strangest thing. When he thought about his wife his heart would fill to near bursting but when he looked at the woman he was married to he felt...nothing. He didn't love her, he didn't hate her, there was nothing. When he was at work, at a job he new nothing about, he found himself anxious to get home. But when he walked into their London flat he found himself wanting to be anywhere else.

When he spoke to his therapist, who Lucas had been finding increasingly useless, about the dreams and conflicting feelings the jackass told him to try and dream of something else. He still didn't know what the hell he was suppose to do with that.

Even his morning showers disappointed him. Anticipation always pooled low in his stomach whenever he turned the water on, the erection was just as embarrassing as the wet dreams. The moment he stepped into the shower and closed his eyes he imagined small hands, pale skin, and loving green eyes. And blonde hair. It was always blonde hair.

His shower had been quick and, like everything else in his life, extremely disappointing. The bathroom was large enough so that the steam from the scolding water didn't fog the mirrors. So, with the large fluffy towel wrapped loosely around his waist he studied his reflection. Four months and he was no closer to recognizing the man who stared out at him.

His dark hair was nearly to his collar. He'd wanted to cut it, but Tess informed him he kept his hair long because he didn't like the shape of his head. He didn't argue, though he wanted to because his hair was so thick it was a pain in the ass to deal with. The beard was annoying too but again Tess told him he'd had it for as long as they'd been married so he kept it. Really, it just seemed easier to defer to her, because hell she knew him better then he knew himself.

With one last empty look in the mirror he turned away. Resolved to move apathetically through another day. Hoping, as he always did, that this one would be different.

* * *

"Good morning, Mr. Luthor."

Lucas smiled politely at the young woman behind the desk. "Good morning, Ms. Brown. I believe he's expecting me."

"You can go right in." Kate Brown tried to be discrete as she watched him walk by. Boss' brother or not the man had a great arse.

Lucas nodded by way of thanks before pulling open the door to his brother's office. Lex was behind the desk, leaning casually back in his chair as he spoke into the phone.

As always the sight of the other man gave Lex a moment of pause. Between the hair and the beard, Davis Bloome actually bore a slight resemblance to the Magnificent Bastard himself. "Take care of it and get back to me." Lex ordered just before hanging up the phone. "Morning brother."

"Morning." In the privacy of his brother's office, Lucas tossed aside his jacket, loosened his tie, and unbuttoned his vest. He didn't understand how Lex could be so comfortable in the constricting suit. "Coffee?"

Lex merely gestured to the server. Davis was no way near as lumbering or freakishly large as Clark Kent. But there was something about the wounded look in his eye that was just as intimidating. Tess feared it was only a matter of time before Davis snapped. Lex was beginning to think Tess was losing her edge. "I understand you got in late this morning."

"And amazingly the company didn't fall apart without me." Lucas replied. He was feeling a bit punchy after, once again, getting lost on his way to work. He'd started out on foot, hoping the walk would lift his mood. Nearly ten minutes passed before he realized the streets he walked and the streets he saw in his mind weren't even remotely the same.

Lost, confused, and frustrated he'd broken down and called his driver. He spent the entire ride into his office quietly fuming in the backseat. He wanted to put his fist through something, felt if he really applied himself he could rip the car apart piece by piece.

"Well, aren't we cheery this morning."

Ignoring his brother, Lucas instead brought the cup of coffee to his nose. Choosing not to question, but just bask in, the comfort of the smell. It wouldn't taste quite right, but he learned to take his kicks where he could.

"Tess get off, okay?" The other man simply gave him a blank look. "Your wife. Wasn't she on her way to Paris this morning?"

Hell if he knew. "Lex, before my accident...did I ever mention or did you ever suspect that maybe...I was cheating on Tess?"

Well, Lex thought, certainly hadn't seen that one coming. Why was it that he was surrounded by incompetents? Why was it so difficult for people to follow simple instructions?

"I've been having these dreams," Incredible dreams. Dreams that made him happier then any moment in his waking life. "About the same woman. They're so...I don't think they're dreams. Not just dreams."

So as not to let the other man see the anger on his face, Lex stood from his desk and turned towards the window. "Do you know or have any idea who she is?" And why was it that even the memory of Chloe Sullivan was a pain in his ass. They'd wiped Davis Bloome clean, made sure not a single memory was left in his alien brain. Yet Chloe kept popping up.

"No. The thing is, even...I never really see all of her. I know she's small." Even in his dreams she makes him feel like he could cart her around the world without getting winded. "She has small hands, but they're strong, competent. Skin like silk."

Lex thought about brushing the whole thing off, making it seem as though the dreams meant nothing. But it wouldn't give Davis the answers he so desperately wanted, possibly make matters worse. But if he gave him an answer, even a vague one, it may satisfy him. Keep him from digging any deeper. At least until they could get him in for another swipe at his mind. "I'm going to be honest with you, Lucas. Before you moved here, you and Tess were having some troubles. It was after dad died, you were in a bad place. Tess mentioned she thought maybe you were seeing other women. I had my suspicions but before I could ask you anything about it, you had the accident. To be honest when you woke up, when you didn't remember anything I thought it might have been a blessing. A chance for you to start clean with your wife."

Leaving Lex's office, Lucas wasn't entirely sold on his brother's reasoning. Sure, getting to start over after being a cheating prick of a husband was nice, but it didn't seem fair. Tess was the one he'd been hurting, if anyone should be able to forget it was her. What was the point of a fresh start when you were the only person completely unaware of the type of bastard you were? It was obvious Tess was as far from forgiving him as a person could get.

They were strangers. And with this recent knowledge Lucas realized his marriage was over. It seemed best, for everyone, that they spend some time apart. He couldn't make up for what he'd done. Especially when he couldn't even remember what he'd done. And most importantly because he honestly felt nothing for her. At least with his brother there was something; vague images of playing together. But with Tess...there was absolutely nothing. Like she was a non-entity.

He never spoke to anyone about this. He kept hoping that one of the brief flashes of his memories would be about Tess. And until something about her became familiar he opted not to tell her he was remembering anything at all. Whenever he went to Lex, his brother responded by telling him to talk to his shrink. And considering his shrink was a complete waste, Lucas figured he'd spare all of them that conversation.

"Excuse me?"

Brought out of his musings by the soft feminine voice, Lucas turned with a frown. "Sorry?"

"I just-" She gestured to the bookshelf he seemed frozen in front of.

"Oh. Sorry." He repeated, this time stepping out of her way.

The woman grabbed the book she wanted, but couldn't bring herself to turn and leave. It wasn't just his looks, though he was awfully nice to look at, but he just seemed so terribly lost, so sad. "Are you alright?"

He liked her voice. It was funny that he'd been in London for so long and he still enjoyed the accents he encountered. "Yeah. Just lost in thought, I guess."

"American." She smiled hoping to coax one out of him in return. "Are you here on vacation?"

"No. I live here, now. Moved a few months back."

"Homesick, then."

That, Lucas realized, was the best way to put it. Though he didn't know how he could possibly be sick for a place he couldn't remember. Especially when his wife and brother-supposedly the only family he had-were with him. But he was missing something. Every morning he woke up hoping he'd feel more...whole then he had the day before. Each morning he was disappointed. "Yeah."

"Is your wife here?" She'd spotted the ring on his finger almost immediately.

Lucas started to shake his head no, but caught himself. "Yeah."

"How-"

"Em, come on you haven't found that book yet." The young woman was the picture of boredom as she appeared at the end of the aisle. Her accent distinctly American. "I have to get out of here."

"Sorry, I got caught up talking to..."

Realizing this was his cue, Lucas held out his hand. "Lucas. Lucas Luthor." He noticed the American had stiffened and subtly backed away at the sound of his name. Because this movement caught his attention, he looked at her more closely.

Something about the stubborn set to her chin and the heated defiance in her eyes seemed so familiar.

Oblivious to the change of atmosphere, the young woman gladly accepted the offer of his hand. "I'm Emma Grant. And this is Lucy." She laughed. "Lucy Lane, actually. You Americans must be fond of alliteration."


	2. A King

**I disclaim. I own nothing.**

_**If you shoot at a King you must kill him—**_Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lex Luthor liked to believe himself a simply man. He never asked anyone for more than was due him. As a child, he'd wanted nothing more then his father's love. Upon realizing that goal would always be just out of his reach, he just wanted a quiet corner to enjoy his Warrior Angel comics. And well... he didn't like thinking how that was snatched from him. But was it any wonder that all he strived for was the freedom and privacy to do as he damn well pleased? Was it his fault that his simple requests were denied him so horrendously?

When he'd gone...No, been shipped off to Smallville he tried to do right. Tried to prove himself to the righteous, close-minded towns people. But they had him judged and condemned before he set foot into town good. And for no other reason then because of who his father was. There had been no changing their minds because they didn't want their minds changed. The way they acted one would have thought there was video evidence of Lionel doing some type of ritual to bring about the meteor shower. As far as Lex was concerned that meteor shower was God's way of wiping out two mistakes at once: Smallville and Krypton. What further proof did they need then a second meteor shower? Because really, two meteor showers in the same town. But they didn't wake up, instead remained blissfully ignorant...and judgey.

Even Clark...no. Clark was the worse of them all. Claimed to be Lex's friend. But he lied, he kept secrets, all the while accusing Lex of every misfortune that fell upon that hellhole he called home. Clark, for all his demands of trust and privacy, lied and dug into every facet of Lex's life. Mr. Righteous, Mr. I'm better than you. But when it came down to it, threw their friendship away over a woman. No, a girl. A insipid little girl who proved to be no more deserving of their love and devotion then any whore on the street.

Clark blamed Lex for what Lana had become. But Lex knew he couldn't take credit for that. Not that he wouldn't have loved to. However, it wasn't his fault Clark couldn't see Lana for the self-obsessed, ball-busting, conniving bitch she was. Lex knew and saw her for what she really was and he loved her any way. But that hadn't been good enough. She'd gone back to Clark because she was too stupid to know she wasn't pregnant. He'd been manipulated, too. But did she understand, did she try to make their marriage work? No, she left. Had gone running back to Clark, believed that she actually belonged up on that pedestal Clark had placed her. She'd left the injured party when she'd been the one using Lex all along.

Looking back, Lex realized he probably should have took more of a passive approach. Just set back and watched as they destroyed one another. What other proof did he need that they were each other's down fall then Lana living with and fucking a man who wasn't Clark and not knowing the difference. But he'd been so consumed with hatred, hatred bred from their lies and betrayal. And if there was one thing Lex could not abide it was lies and betrayal. Which is why that sniveling, ungrateful, clone of a brother of his was taken out.

He'd lost his way. Allowed them to cloud his judgement. Allowed them to distract him. But he was ready now. Going away for a bit, allowing them all to believe him dead, that had been for the best. Because they just imploded all on their own. God knows he laughed until it hurt when he learned of Lana's foray into the realm of superheroes. Part of him wanted to give Chloe a call, share a good laugh about Lana now _being_ the thing that Clark couldn't go near. He didn't care that he wanted Chloe out of the way as well, that she claimed to be one of the good souls. That shit was funny and she'd been dicked around enough by Clark to find the humor. He just knew she did.

But he'd been patient, continued to sit back as he built his army. Finding the right equations to use the meteor rock to mutate genes however _he_ wanted. Using Tess to go out and recruit the prototypes he needed. And even better, using them to hunt down the one who would destroy Clark. It had been the perfect time, too. Clark may have loved Lana, or at least thought he did. He may have lusted for Lois. But it was Chloe that he needed. Chloe who he depended on above everyone else. And without her, he was weak.

Which is why it was just Lex's luck that Chloe had _finally_ gotten over Clark and moved on to Davis Bloome. Because in doing so she left Clark adrift in a world he couldn't quite navigate without her. That was clear when the farm boy and his merry band of pains in the ass attacked the poor bastard on the street. It was then Lex knew it was time to find the other Kryptonian, to present Clark with his greatest challenge. Unfortunately for him Tess sent in a bunch of stupid kids. The whole plan was ruined. And Lex went back to the drawing board.

Thought he needed just a little more time. But then fate smiled on him. He'd found a spot, the perfect spot for a new facility. They brought with them a new find, a kid who for all intents and purposes was a radio. Which came in handy when he needed to talk over a secured line. But was even better when the kid picked up chatter, chatter between the group of people Lex was trying to destroy. And lo and behold, the destroyer that Lex had been searching for, the man that would end Clark was married to Clark's lifeline. That was almost as funny as Lana the superhero, not quite but really a close second.

Lex had every intention of sending a team to retrieve that monster. But it seemed the plan the league of incompetents came up with had been solid as that beast had been sent through to the ocean floor. Lex was pretty sure the plan had been constructed by Chloe. He'd been half crazed, demanding his team go down there. He was close, knew he was finally so close to Clark's end. He refused to accept failure.

Instead of bringing back an indestructible beast his team brought him back a man. They found Davis Bloome floating miles several hundred miles from the explosion. The fact that he survived the explosion was all the proof Lex needed that Davis was what he'd been searching for all along.

Sure it had taken longer then he thought to completely wipe Davis' memories. And he hadn't counted on having to send him in for regular wipes. He never would have figured Chloe 'second fiddle' Sullivan would be that hard to forget.

Two years. It had taken the scientist he hired two years to come up with the right number and combination of meteor types to finally erase Davis' memory. That is for him to finally be awake more then five minutes before he started sputtering on about Chloe. Of course they took him in, without Davis' knowledge of course, for regular treatments. Lex thought it would be a simple thing, hire someone to sit and listen to Davis while the people he hired pumped toxins into the room and the woman at the front desk, who was one of the erasers Lex's scientist had created, made sure to shake Davis' hand before he left.

Lex had listened in on all the the 'therapy' sessions. He was aware of Davis' confusion, of the disconnect he felt. And Tess was really disappointing him there. Not that Lex could really blame Davis, from what he heard of the dreams, Chloe Sullivan was a lot more interesting then Lex ever gave her credit for. So it wasn't hard for him to understand why Davis was finding it hard to let go of her. And he hadn't had a problem as long as Davis believed they were just dreams.

In the beginning, when it seemed like they'd never get Davis to where they wanted, Lex considered snatching Chloe. Thought it could work in both bringing Davis around and really sticking it to Clark. The thoughts were fleeting, however, when he realized that Clark, the walking annoyance that was Lois Lane, and the dimwits in leather would search heaven and hell for Chloe. And that was a distraction he just could afford to have. Especially with Tess growing increasingly more useless. It was looking more and more like Lex was going to have to get rid of her as well.

He was so close now. Davis trusted him, confided in him. It wouldn't be long before Superman, The Green Arrow, and the rest of them came in search of Lex. And when they did, he'd be ready for them. This time nothing would stand in his way.

* * *

Lucy Lane was on a mission. Her big sister may have viewed her as a self absorbed brat and her cousin probably thought she couldn't pour piss out of a boot, but she wasn't as vapid as they thought. True she enjoyed her life. Enjoyed that Lois had been the pretty but simple one. And Chloe had been the pretty but weird one. While _she_ had been pretty, smart, and well-behaved. She'd been the favorite, the special one. Enjoyed standing apart from them that way.

Naturally, they couldn't let her have that. Just let her have something since the two of them had just loved the hell out of each other. There had never been room for Lucy in that twosome, not that she wanted to be part of it. But would it have killed them to even pretend to want to be bothered with her.

It wasn't fair that they began encroaching on her thing. Becoming big damn deals at _The Daily Planet_. Chloe marrying a man who by all accounts worship the ground she walked on. And Lois bagging Oliver fucking Queen. She had no guilt about not going to Chloe's wedding. Why should she have when the word of one wedding came so swiftly on the heels of another being cancelled? She hadn't gone, even though her father insisted, to visit Chloe after she had her baby. All baby's looked the same to her, so what was the point. No, Lucy didn't feel guilt until she went to Spain instead of going to the memorial of her cousin's husband.

Her father had been disappointed. Lois livid. And Chloe...well she doubted if Chloe was really aware of anyone actually being there. Maybe this was her punishment. Coming face to face with a man who looked so much like the man in the wedding photo on her father's mantle.

At least she thought he did. She'd never met Davis Bloome. Not in person. And she'd only looked at the photo once. And she only gotten a brief look at the man who called himself Lucas. What she needed was a better look at that picture her father had. What she needed was another look at Lucas. Thought it couldn't...they couldn't be...

This man was a Luthor. Someone would have told her if Chloe married a Luthor, right? Was he...hiding from Chloe. Did he leave her? Wouldn't a divorce had been easier then letting her think him dead? If it was him, shouldn't she call Lois to come kick his ass? But... what if this wasn't Davis. She had no doubt Lois would tell Chloe. And though Lucy may have been spoiled and selfish she understood that the last thing Chloe needed was to come see a man who looked like, but wasn't at all her husband. It would be like losing him all over again wouldn't it? But what if he was Davis and she didn't call and...Jesus, she was confusing herself.

"Lucy. Earth to Lucy." Emma waved her hands in front of her friends face. "You're drifting off on me."

Lucy gave an apologetic smile. Emma had been one of her best friends. The reason she moved to London. Lucy, like her sister and cousin, didn't have very many female friends. It seemed Lois had been right and her personality had been a little hard to take. It was a hard lesson to learn. It was only recently that she realized Lois and Chloe were able to tolerate her simply because they loved her.

But she'd met Emma her freshman year of high school. And despite her open and often overly friendly personality, she often saw through and called Lucy on her bullshit.

"Sorry Em."

"I bet you're still thinking about that yummy Lucas Luthor."

The past week she thought about nothing but. "I've been thinking about checking in with my family." She wanted to tell Emma her suspicions. But she was sure her friend would tell her she's projection onto Lucas because she felt guilty about not attending Davis' memorial. But she was doing a good enough job packing for her guilt trip by herself, she didn't need help.

"I think that's a good idea. You can apologize to your cousin. Not only for missing her husband's memorial. But you've never seen her little boy, Lucy."

Oh, goody another bag for her to carry. But she'd unload. She'd fix this. She was just as much a Sullivan-Lane as Chloe and Lois were dammit. She was curious, intrepid, tenacious, not to mention she had it on good authority that her boobs were awesome, too. She was more intelligent and had more subtlety then Lois. A lot more manipulative and conniving then Chloe. She'd prove to them that she was as deserving of the name as they were.

If Lucas Luthor was who he said he was, Chloe never had to know. But if he was in fact Davis Bloome, well she'd find out. All she had to do was make sure she didn't run afoul of Lex Luthor while she did it. But she _was_ a Sullivan-Lane, so...


	3. Knowledge

**I disclaim. I own nothing.**

_**Knowledge rests not upon truth alone, but upon error also—**_Carl Jung

"Sullivan! Lane! My office now."

Lois Lane, having just finished up with a source, rolled her eyes at her editor's tone. The man was professionally gruff, which made needling him that much more fun. Her cousin and writing partner, was across the room working at her own desk. A few years ago, when Chloe first came back to _The Daily Planet_, Lois had wanted their desks together. But over the years, they found they worked better separated. It allowed them to work out their own thought processes and ideas then come together.

It still sucked that she was stuck with Smallville, not that it was a particular hardship to look at Clark Kent's face for hours at a time. But the man was still slightly ridiculous and until that changed the pretty face just went to waste. Fortunately, on a day when she was particularly crunched, he was off she didn't care where working on who knew what.

Finishing up her call, she typed in a few notes before closing down her files, and input her appointment into her Blackberry on her way over to her cousin's desk.

"Well," Lois sighed as she leaned casually against the corner of her cousin's desk. "At least we know we're not in trouble."

Instead of answering Chloe Sullivan-Bloome held up a finger. She was right in the middle of her latest article and couldn't afford to lose her train of thought, even if it meant her cousin was going to have to entertain herself while making their perpetually harried editor had to wait a few minutes.

Non-plussed, Lois perched on the edge of her cousin's desk. Sure she could have gone into Perry's office without Chloe, but it was just more fun this way. It was obvious to her that he was in a fairly good mood and Lois just couldn't abide by that. Realizing that her cousin was in a zone and her fiddling around wouldn't even blip on Chloe's radar, Lois used the opportunity to check through her emails.

It was busy work, something to occupy her hands while her mind wondered. She needed a manicure and a pedicure. She was overdue for a trim. And a day at the spa would be heavenly. What she needed, was a vacation. She hadn't been outside of Metropolis in nearly a year. And even then it was a spur of the moment weekend thing that Oliver surprised her with.

Oliver. Lois gave a longing sigh, she didn't even want to think about the last time they had more then two hours alone together. Even though they'd found their way back to each other over a year ago, the lack of real time spent together made the relationship still feel new. But even the time apart didn't effect them negatively. They were better then they had been the first time. Part of it was due to the fact that there were no secrets between them. And the other part was witnessing how much Chloe and Davis packed in to what little time they had together. Losing Davis put things into perspective for all of them.

"Hey," Chloe snapped her fingers in front of her cousin's nose. "Nice trip?"

Because she never liked the sorrow that settled over Chloe's features when she spoke of missing Davis, Lois flashed an easy smile. "So-so. Ready to go hear the chief heap praise on us?"

Chloe frowned as she lifted the mug of tepid coffee to her lips. "How do you know he'll heap praise? History shows that he's as likely to heap praise as turn the air blue."

"He said your name first. Your name first means praise. My name first means creative swearing." Lois eased off the desk. "I'm starting to get a complex."

Chloe laughed as she lead the way into Perry's office. "So I got an e-mail from Lucy today?"

"Hell must have frozen over because I did too. She asked me how you were and if I could send her a picture of Declan."

"Yeah," Chloe answered slowly. "That was the gist of mine, too. What do you think that's about?"

"God only knows with her. Probably tricking some guy into thinking she's had his kid."

"Or she could be growing up. You did."

"Maybe." But Lois wasn't entirely convinced.

The cousin's jumped back when the door in front of them swung open. "Lane! Sul-" Perry began to shout only to come up short when he found himself in front of the two people he'd been calling. "Oh, what the hell took you two so long." He muttered as he turned to go back into the office.

"Blows your theory to hell." Chloe thought about it a moment. "Or proves it, I'm not sure which. Hey, chief."

"First off," Perry settled into the chair behind his desk. "When you asked to work on separate stories, I objected. I didn't believe the quality of your work would be the same. Turns out that wasn't the case."

Fortunately, Lois and Chloe weren't waiting for an apology because one was not forth coming. Nor would he be admitting he was wrong.

"Now having said that, I got a story I want the both of you on. Lex Luthor has surfaced." He studied the faces of the two cousins. "And neither of you seem terribly surprised by that."

"Actually, Perry." Chloe began casually. "He surfaced months ago in London. Bought up all the shares of a struggling R&D firm."

"But everyone thought he was dead.. You find out he's alive and..."

"I never thought he was dead." Lois tossed out. "Not really. I'm beginning to think the man honestly can not be killed. He's like Harry Potter. Or Senor Chang."

"Well, your old boss popped up also. She arrived in Metropolis just last night."

"Of course bad penny Mercer is back." Lois' face was a clear indication of her distaste for all things Tess Mercer. A distaste that didn't entirely stem from the fact that Oliver may or may not have been in love with her at one time.

"Well I want to know what....?"

"LuthorCorp bought BDP Tech, the company that just got the contract with the state to develop new car batteries and solar panels and all the other things that's going to make this great state cleaner and greener."

"There's also reason to believe they just purchased themselves a shiny new congressman. And they're in the market for a governor and a senator. Be a nice little hat trick wouldn't it."

"How...?"

"Perry. Come _on_."

Perry frowned. Sullivan and Lane were two of his best, they were also very much aware of this fact. But usually the cocky attitude was all Lois; Chloe had a more quiet confidence. So it surprised him to see the arrogant smirk curling her lips. "Right. So, I take that to mean you also know about the press conference today." A near identical smirk tugged at the corner of Lois' lips. "Of course you do. Well, I want the two of you on this. Whatever you're working on now can wait. I want you at that press conference. And," He shot a pointed look to Lois. "I want you on your best behavior."

"Always."

Despite her assurance, or maybe because of it, Perry looked skeptical. Before he could comment there was a knock at the door.

"Mommy!"

With a large grin, Chloe stood from her chair to open the door to her son who immediately wrapped his arms around her legs. "Hello, son."

"How does he always know where you are?" Perry asked as Chloe lifted her son into her arms. It's not that he minded children. Actually, he liked them when he didn't have to be bothered with them. And he knew the state of the art daycare facility Oliver Queen had built went a long way with his staff, even if they all knew it was was built as an enticement to get Sullivan back to work. Which was funny considering that Sullivan's kid couldn't be bothered to actually stay in the daycare built for him. He was a cute kid; all laughing green eyes, dimpled smile, and wild dark curls. Neatly trimmed curls now, Perry mentally corrected, realizing the boy had gotten a haircut since the last time he'd seen him.

No, Perry didn't mind children. And little Declan Bloome was as cute as they came. He was also bad as all holy hell. Oh, he was sure there were other words people would have used: spirited, precocious, mischievous. And they all would have fit, but when you added in his mother's brains, his aunts tenacity, that sweetly innocent face, and...

"Here you go, Deckie." Bart Allen appeared in the door way holding a Starbucks cup. "Lots of chocolate milk in a mommy cup."

And there was the other thing, Perry thought. The kid was spoiled rotten.

"Are we done here, chief? Great." Lois asked and answered on her way to the door. "Because I am starving. And maybe we can stop by the pet store before we have to get back to work. Talk mommy into buying-"

"Lois." Chloe warned.

"I wasn't going to say it. But it wouldn't kill you to buy the kid a p-u-p-p-y."

"Oh, cool we're getting a puppy." Bart announced and had Declan clapping his hands in utter glee.

Chloe quickly began to hustle them out. "We're not getting a puppy."

As Lois, Bart, and Declan began to loudly voice their disappointment Perry shook his. The kid was definitely getting a puppy.

* * *

"So, you and Di are heading to London tomorrow, right?"

Bart's face paled considerably, as he cast a censoring look towards Lois. "Shh. Deckie doesn't know."

"Bart," Chloe lowered her voice. Declan hated when anyone yelled at his Uncle Bart. "You're leaving tomorrow, don't you think you should have explained it to him."

"I figured, I could do both. There's really no need for him to know I'm gone." He looked at the little boy sitting across from him. "I don't want to upset him if I don't have to.

Chloe wanted to argue, but it was hard. Bart adored Declan and the feeling was returned it spades. "Declan," She looked over just in time to see him shove something in his mouth. For the life of her she couldn't figure out why kids had to put everything in their mouths. "What was that? Hand it over."

"It's my tooth, mommy." Declan proudly pulled the object out of his mouth and handed it to his mother. "My shork's tooth."

Chloe frowned as she studied the triangular jagged edged tooth. "Where did you get this?"

"I pulled it."

"From a shark?" At this Declan nodded. And Chloe thought she knew exactly where this was going. "Who helped you?"

"Uncle C." Declan answered absently as he reached for the bowl of apple slices he'd been adamant about not eating only moments before.

"Uncle AC." Chloe's gaze went to Bart who was looking every where but at her. "Who I know for a fact is in Miami. Bart, I told you I don't like you speeding him all over the place, it can't be good for him."

"Come on, 'Licious. I've been speeding Deckie around since he was a baby, Dr. Hamilton ran the scans and said it's okay."

Okay, that was true. It was odd, most mothers were running behind their toddlers worried about skinned knees. Chloe worried about brain damage sustained from super-speeding across the globe. Fortunately Dr. Hamilton assured her it was perfectly safe. "Okay, what about the fact that I asked you repeatedly not to take him out of the state without telling me first."

Bart nodded. "Yeah, I know I should have told you. But AC called, he wanted Deckie to be there when they released one of their rescue...something or other."

"A shork, Mommy. I wrode a shork."

"It was not a shark." Bart interjected quickly. "I promise you it wasn't a shark."

"But you don't deny he rode something."

Bart gave a charming grin. "That wasn't a shark."

"Then how did he get the tooth."

"AC probably found it and gave it to him. Granted we've let him get away with a lot before, but we wouldn't have let him ride a shark."

Despite what Perry may think, Chloe was very much aware that her child was spoiled. She owned up to being largely responsible for that. But that's not to say she didn't have help. Like an uncle who could and would run him any where he wanted. And another who fed Declan's obsession with all things aquatic. "It better not have been. I swear to God, Bart, I find out my child rode a shark you and Steve Zissou won't be able to run fast enough, far enough."

"Big shork, Mommy." Declan climbed out of his chair and into his mother's lap. "I kiss its nose and wrode him."

Even if Chloe wanted to remain upset, it was really hard to in the presence of her baby's happiness. Not to mention the adorable way his r's always rolled into an O or W, she couldn't help but smile when he spoke. "Were you a good boy for your Uncles?

With an apple slice clutched in each hand, Declan turned his head to grin at his mother as he nodded his head.

Unable to help herself Chloe framed his face in her hands to press several kisses on his lips before blowing a raspberry over the three tiny moles dotting his cheek, identical to the ones that decorated her own. And just like everything else regarding Declan, she thought how Davis would have gone crazy. She remembered the way he'd study Declan when they first brought him home. Each day picking out some other part of himself or her that he saw in their baby.

"I hate that you cut his hair."

Because she'd been hearing this refrain for the better part of the day, Chloe didn't bother to look up at her cousin. "It's cut now, Lois. I can't glue it back on."

"But he has such gorgeous hair. All those thick beautiful curls."

"That I have to wash and comb out. Now I know why Davis always shaved his off."

"Davis' hair was curly." Bart frowned as he traded his empty plate for the one Chloe hadn't quite finished with. "Wish I would have known that, all the crap he gave me about my hair."

"Daddy! Kiss Daddy!"

"It was more wavy then curly." Chloe corrected as she pulled out her cell phone. Her wall paper hadn't changed in three years; Davis pressing a tender kiss to the top of Declan's head. Declan loved to look at, to kiss his daddy's image, and hold babbling conversations she didn't pretend to understand. So she handed him the phone and he began to mumble happily. "But it was so thick and beautiful. He said it was a pain in the ass to deal with, so he kept it short."

"He grew it out when you guys were in New York though right."

Chloe nodded. "I begged him to. Cut it soon as we got back though. Snorkel puss here has hair that's a perfect combination of mine and his daddy's. Which is why it had to be cut."

"It's not fair to cut off his curls just because you don't like yours."

Rolling her eyes, Chloe ran her fingers through Declan's hair. Which was still long enough for her to wrap a curl around her finger; yesterday before she'd taken him to get his hair cut it actually fell to his shoulders. "Lo, I couldn't dislike anything enough to suffer through the experience of getting this kid's hair cut."

"It's traumatizing." Bart agreed. "Last time he acted like somebody executed _Little Bear_ in front of him. I don't know how you did it 'Licious."

"Please, Bart." Lois scoffed. "You don't do anything you think might make the Snorkel puss cry."

Not at all ashamed of the fact that he spoiled his nephew rotten, Bart leaned back in his chair. "That really a stone you want to throw around, Lo-Baby."

As the two began to argue back and forth, Chloe pressed her lips against Declan's ear. "Tell your aunt and uncle to stop fighting."

Declan made a noise, what he thought may have been a whistle, that caught Lois and Bart's attention. "No. Fightin."

It was really hard for Bart and Lois to continue their argument under such a direct order; especially when it was given over a mouth full of apple and a large grin. Declan loved to give orders, Chloe liked to pretend she didn't know where he got that from.

"Sorry, Deckie."

"Sorry, Dimples." Lois held her arms out and Declan happily crawled across the table to sit in her lap. "You want some ice cream. Excuse me?" She signalled for the waiter before Chloe could object. "Can we get a bowl of chocolate ice cream?"

"Two." Declan corrected.

"Okay, two bowls of your chocolate ice cream. Bart will eat one." Lois assured Chloe when the waiter walked off. "Oh, before I forget I'm going to need you to put a couple of things on your expense account."

"Why can't it go on yours?"

"Because those bitches down in accounting have been giving me a hard time about, like, everything on mine. You know, I've never been anything but nice to those whores so their behavior is just unnecessary."

"Why don't you try not calling them whores and bitches.?" Bart suggested.

"Why don't we all try to refrain from using the words whore and bitch around my child." Chloe gave them both a stern look, but understood the warning was too late. The look in Declan's eyes told her he'd already committed the words to memory and this conversation was going to come back and bite her in the ass at the most inopportune time. "Besides, you can be nice to them until the cows come home. You're dating the owner, they'll never like you. What's worse is they know you won't say anything because you don't want to look like you're running to your boyfriend."

"You should really stop fu-" Bart winced when Chloe's foot connected with his shin. "Sorry, dating the men you work for, it detracts from your talent."

"I was working at _The Planet_ long before Oliver bought it. And we've all agreed the Grant thing never happened, so you're not allowed to bring that up anymore." Lois paused when the waiter set Declan's ice cream in front of him, realizing too late that the both of them would likely be covered in chocolate by the time he was done. Especially, when she considered the fact that he was still holding Chloe's cell.

Not feeling the least bit sorry for her cousin, Chloe grinned. "Yeah, smart ass, get this done cleanly."

Seeming to understand perfectly, Declan grinned as he scooped ice cream into his mouth even as he continued to babble into the phone.

"That's when he looks like you." Bart decided, already half-way through his bowl of ice cream. "That evil little grin there, that's all you 'Licious."

It wasn't the first time she'd heard this, Oliver had made the same observation, but Chloe didn't know she had an 'evil little grin'. She'd take it though, since Lois often teased her about running a maternity test on Declan to make sure he was actually hers.

"You had your phone on vibrate didn't you?" Lois asked as she frowned at Declan.

When it seemed like Bart would actually lick the bowl, Chloe reached over and snatched it out of his hands. "Yeah. Why?"

"Because I really think he's talking to someone now."

"What?" Reaching across the table Chloe deftly plucked the phone out of her son's hand, which he immediately took exception to. "Hello? Hello?" She could hear someone on the other end. "Hello?" Still there was no response. "And I'm hanging up now. Thanks, Lois." Chloe checked the length of the call before sliding the phone back into her purse. "He was talking to God only knows for ten minutes."

"Sorry, I thought I heard it vibrate but I wasn't sure."

"That's cause you're old." Bart interjected, earning a fist to the arm from Lois.

"And then, I figured it was locked." Lois continued as she absently handed Declan her own cell.

"He knows how to unlock it." Chloe waited until Declan hit a series of keys. "Which is how he's managing to call Ollie."

* * *

"Ms. Mercer..."

"I said no questions."

"Not even for an old employee."

Especially for an old employee, Tess thought. But her determined stride slowed to a stop and she braced herself to come face to face with Chloe Sullivan-Bloome. When Lex had come up with his plan to use Davis Bloome, Tess did not believe it could work. She'd seen Davis and Chloe together, she'd been there during his recovery. They pumped that man full of meteor rock, brought in erasures, stopped just short of actually lobotomizing him and every time he opened his eyes he asked for Chloe.

For four months Tess had to listen to him call out Chloe's name in his sleep. Had to endure him looking at her, waiting for her features to change, for her to become someone else. It was lowering, demeaning, to share a home with a man who could barely tolerate you. And all for a man who found you disposable.

"Ms. Sullivan. Can't say I'm surprised to see you.""

Chloe smiled easily. "Then you have me at a disadvantage. For all intents and purposes you dropped off the face of the earth."

"I wouldn't go that far. Was my behavior unprofessional? Yes. Could it be helped? Well...I fell in love. Got caught up in the romance of it. And I married a wonderful man."

How...rote, Chloe thought hoping desperately her disbelief didn't show on her face. "It's just a good thing Mr. Luthor is so forgiving. But I guess the fact that he pulled his own disappearing act helps."

"Mr. Luthor just barely survived a plane crash in Antartica. It's hard to say how long he was really there, it's a miracle he survived. I would expect that kind of sloppy reporting from your cousin-"

"Don't." Chloe cut her off. "We always got along better when you weren't insulting my cousin."

"It's just the two of us here, Ms. Sullivan. You don't have to defend her or pretend that she's not piggy backing off your talent."

"Lois' talent speaks for itself, I don't have to defend her. The fact of the matter is I'm not going to stand here and listen to you insult my cousin."

Tess was quiet as she studied the other woman. She knew that Chloe had always been protective of her cousin, but there was something more there now. A harsher glint in her eye that spoke of her readiness to fight if it came down to it. "What has she done? What has any of them ever done to earn your loyalty?"

"She's my cousin." And she had been with and gotten Chloe through every day since she lost Davis. There were still mornings Chloe found it difficult to get out of bed and it was Lois who tossed the covers back and pulled her up. Or simply kicked off her shoes and climbed in with her. "But we're not here to talk about my cousin."

"_The Planet_ can run the press release just like everyone else."

"You know our copy must have gotten lost. Have an extra?"

Tess smiled, it was hard not to have a grudging respect for the young woman. "This has been fun, but I really have to go."

"I'm sure hell can run without you for just a bit longer."

It may have been possible, though Tess sincerely doubted, for someone to despise another person as much as she _really_ just despised all things Lois Lane. Possible, just not very likely. "Ah, Lois. Shouldn't you be screwing your way to a byline."

"Have not missed this." Chloe shot her cousin a censoring look. "At all."

Before Tess could comment her Blackberry vibrated in her hand. When her assistant's name appeared on the display she just barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "What?"

"What part of 'best behavior' was lost to you, Lo?" Chloe spoke in a low, slightly impatient tone.

"Sorry." Lois sighed. "I just...can't stand that woman."

"Are you kidding me?" Tess demanded into her phone, beginning to understand why some of Lex's planing fell slightly less of ideal. Being surrounded by incompetents could really hinder brain function. And having to think for everyone was just mentally exhausting. She thought about asking Chloe how she managed it. "This is a very simple task. It's a poem about feet."

Maybe this was a Davis side project she should have done herself. But the fact was she was sick of her Davis side projects. He was constantly remember things, little things about his life with Chloe that she had to lay claim to. The little things that, had he been her husband, she would have found sweet that he remembered. Unfortunately, it was little details that only Chloe could really know.

For the longest she tried to put him off by claiming ignorance: _What makes you think I would know how to fix your cell? Why would we have ever stayed in an apartment? Nightmares? I don't remember you ever having nightmares before._

It was tiring but she learned that if she gave him more to think about, he usually became frustrated with his inability to remember and eventually let it go. The problem was, that every time she put him off he looked at her more and more suspiciously. So now, per Lex's orders, she had to be better about shaping his memories.

"No more excuses. Google it, Bing it, whatever. Just get it done." Snapping off the phone, Tess just barely resisted the urge to toss the phone into the wall.

"Pablo Neruda." Chloe answered softly.

"What?" Tess demanded.

"_Your Feet_ by Pablo Neruda. Might be what you're looking for." Chloe could feel that painful tightening in her chest, like the air was being slowly squeezed from her lungs. "You know, I think we've got a copy of that press release. Have a good day, Ms. Mercer."

"Chloe?" Lois watched as her cousin rushed away. "Chloe wait."

As the two cousins moved quickly in the opposite direction then where she was heading, Tess gave a sigh of relief. For once her assistant's incompetence worked in her favor: she found the name of the poem Davis had been searching for and she got Chloe off her back. Made her rethink having the idiot killed.


	4. Absence and Death

**I disclaim. I own nothing.**

**Quick note: Kit Merlot asked how I had the girls related. I had always connected them through Gabe and Lois and Lucy's mom. Making Lois and Lucy Sullivan/Lane. Has the show addressed this? If anyone knows-the way I have it works better for my story-but for future reference it would be nice to know.**

* * *

_**Absence and death are the same—only that in death there is no suffering-**_**Walter Savage Landor**

Lucy began her investigation by parking herself outside of the Luthorcorp offices. She tried the Internet but the only information she could find on Lucas Luthor was the story on his accident four months ago. She didn't have Chloe's skill for hacking or knowing the angles at which to start a search for information. Nor did she have Lois' arrogance to simply walk into a place and demand information. But she was insistent and determined. So during her breaks at the bank, before and after work, as well as her day off she staked out the building.

She considered finding his home address, but thought that would seem a little too convenient. After a lot of arguing with herself, she decided that 'accidentally' running into him near his office was a lot less suspicious. The only problem was Lucas Luthor, as far as she could tell, hadn't shown up for work in a week. She realized it probably wasn't a big deal that he wasn't there, what with his family owning the place. But it really did screw up her plans.

Just as Chloe and Lois blowing her off screwed her plans as well. Actually, that wasn't entirely true. Chloe emailed her back, said everything was fine but that she missed her, wished she came to visit them more often, but photos didn't really do her son justice. Lois left her a voice message telling her to get her ass to Metropolis if she wanted to know what her nephew looked like. Lucy just barely resisted the urge to call her sister back and clarify for her just how they were related to Declan. Then she realized her cousin and sister were-in their own ways-trying to get her to visit them and she couldn't really be angry at them for that.

It may have been easier to call her dad or her Uncle Gabe, but she never called her Uncle Gabe and lately calling her dad usually resulted in a lecture. So she stuck with her accidental meeting plan, the fact that she had no idea what to do after 'bumping into' Lucas didn't really bother her. Ever since she was a kid her bread and butter had been on her ability to bullshit her way through any situation.

"Hey,"

"Oh, sweet Jesus! God!" Lucy would have sworn her heart stopped. "Don't do that."

"Sorry. Sorry."

Lucy stared at the guy in front of her and was trying not to be charmed by the carefree smile he flashed at her. "Who are you and why are you sneaking up on me?"

"Bart Allen. And just wanted to meet the woman I'm going to marry."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Terrible line." But he was cute, adorably aware of just how cheesy his line was.

"Time change kind of messes up my mojo. You're Lucy Lane, right."

Instantly weary, Lucy took a step back. Was it possible that Lex had seen her lurking and sent someone to kill her? Would an assassin actually introduce himself first? Though if the fact that Chloe was still walking around was any proof, the Luthors sucked at assassination attempts. "Yeah."

"Don't freak out. I'm Bart Allen."

"You keep saying that. Yet I have no idea what I'm suppose to do with that information."

Bart laughed. "You're kidding. You know Oliver Queen, right. Well I work for him. Sorta."

Lucy was sure that if any other guy was standing in front of her, his least attractive trait would be the fact that he was a grown man who 'sorta' had a job. But on him it kind of worked. There was a Matthew McConaughey the world is my home vibe about him, that was kinda appealing. "Okay, you work for my sister's boyfriend. Sorta."

"You need to get home more often. Chloe takes care of me. Has for years. Lois has been trying to get her to toss me, but I think she wouldn't know what to do without me either."

It was the pride in his voice that made Lucy realize what he was actually saying: her family was his family. "Lois and Chloe let you into their inner circle." And she really did try not to sound bitter as she said that.

"Naw, not even Ollie and Clark can breach that barrier. I think Davis came the closest though. Guess it was kind of hard not to when Lois would climb over into bed with them."

Lucy didn't need him to express his thoughts, they were written as clear as day on his face. In that way he reminded her of Chloe. Even as a child her cousin's every thought would register on her face. Though she doubted Chloe ever had a thought as lecherous as the one Bart obviously just had. "How is she?"

Bart's easy mood seemed to dim considerably. "She still misses him. I thought...I guess we all thought that after all this time...But she still misses him so much, you know. The good thing is she has Deckie and the little guy just looks so much like his dad." His attention flickered away, Dinah was in his ear telling him to move his ass. "Gotta dash. Maybe I'll catch you later, Lu-Bella.

"Wait," Lucy reached out and grabbed him when he started to walk away. "Tell me about Declan."

"We don't have the time gorgeous. At least not now." He flashed that easy grin again. "And you might want to be careful. Lo-Baby and 'Licious find out you're lurking outside of Lex's office they're going to blow a gasket."

Lucy frowned. "How do you know I was lurking?"

"You're a Sullivan-Lane, aren't you?" Bart gave her wink. "The only thing you could possibly be doing outside of a Luthorcorp building is lurking."

* * *

If Lucas had known Lucy was parking outside of his office waiting for him, he would have told her not to take his absence personally. In the week since they met, he'd refused to leave his home. It all started shortly after he met her in the bookstore. He recognized her, there was something about her...he knew her. He'd gone home, thinking he'd remember just by sheer determination. Obviously, that hadn't worked.

He'd gone on the Internet, hoping to find ways to help. There was an abundance of information, some sound, some outrageous, a lot of it conflicting. Leading him to the conclusion that he needed to talk to a trained professional. But he knew he wouldn't get answers from his psychiatrist, so he called to see if he could get another doctor . And was surprised by what he learned.

It appeared that he had no say in his therapy what so ever. He was informed that all matters in that regard were to be handled by his wife. If, the receptionist had informed him, he wanted to schedule a new doctor then he'd have to talk it over with Tess first then have her call. He'd been so angry by this he ended up crushing his cellphone. A fact that barely registered in his mind. He simply tossed the pieces away and snatched up the cordless receiver resting on it's charger. His mind going so quickly, he wasn't fully aware of the numbers he dialed.

When a small child answered the phone, his heart stopped for reason's he didn't entirely understand.

_'Hello?'_

_'Uh, who...who's this?"_

_'I'm Snorkel puss.'_

Lucas knew he should have hung up. But he couldn't, just could not force himself to put the phone down. _'Snorkel puss?'_

_'Uh-huh. I'm Mommy's Son. Mommy's son Snorkel puss.'_

_'Yeah?'_

_'I kiss daddy. And tell daddy about the shorks. And the tuordles. Because I like wadder. And I swim like a fish.'_

It took Lucas a minute to connect the dots on that. The kid had the most adorable speech impediment he'd ever heard. _'Oh, you like sharks and turtles and fish. Sharks are pretty awesome.' _What came next was a ten minute run on sentence, in which Lucas found himself thoroughly absorbed. It was probably the best conversation he had since he woke up in that hospital. The kid's voice was comforting, soothing...familiar. Took him back to his the first few nights in the hospital when he thought he heard a woman and child's voice. He'd never told anyone about that, for fear they'd think he was crazy.

Maybe, Lucas had thought, he was crazy. How else could he explain why he was listening to a toddlers excited babble about all the sea animals he'd seen? And not only did he listen, he actually found himself responding, and hanging on the child's every word. He realized that homesickness he'd been feeling was decreasing with every second the child spoke. Thought he felt himself being rebuilt piece by piece. But then the conversation ended. And nothing could describe what he felt next.

_'Hello? Hello?'_

Lucas thought this would have been a good time to explain that he'd obviously dialed the wrong number. That the kid had done nothing wrong and that he realized it was kind of weird that he hadn't hung up. The speech he'd prepared while listening to the little boy was lost the moment he heard the woman's voice. _Her_ voice.

The voice of the blonde he heard every night in his dreams. That voice that calmed everything inside his soul. The voice, that even in that moment, made him feel whole and safe and loved and worthy. But he couldn't speak. Thought if he did what would come out would be a jumble of crazy that ran along the lines of: I love you. I miss you. I need you. Who are you? And he didn't have to be of the world long to know that would send a woman screaming.

'_Hello? And I'm hanging up now.'_

And even as his heart began to race, as every fiber of his being told him to say something, to keep her on the line; Lucas remained speechless. He'd made a noise, some ridiculous embarrassing noise after she hung up. Couldn't breathe, couldn't hang up, couldn't move. Just stood there like an idiot holding the phone until one of the maids came in, afraid that he'd had a stroke of some kind.

She took the receiver from him, clicked it off then back on, and began to dial Tess' number. Lucas, finally coming back to himself, snatched the phone from her.

"What the hell are you doing?" He shouted at her. "Who told you to touch anything?" He hit the redial button, roaring in frustration when Tess answered. Clicking the phone off, he turned to the poor unsuspecting woman, fury written all over his face. "Do you realize what you did? Do you?"

"Mr. Luthor, I-"

"Get out! Get out of here! Don't you ever come back in here, do you understand, no one come in here ever again."

When she rushed out, he threw the phone at the door she closed at her back. It broke into pieces, and collapsing into the desk chair, Lucas did as well.

* * *

_Gloriously and beautifully naked, she rose above him. Her hair sexily tousled from his hands, her lips red and swollen from his kisses, and her eyes full of everything she felt for him. Full of all he wanted in life. There were other signs of what they just experienced, things he was a little ashamed to take pride in: the bite marks on her neck and shoulders, the finger tip shape bruises on her hips. The little things she wouldn't notice until she looked in the mirror in the morning but he saw perfectly in the moonlight._

_"Now that we've completed the ravishing portion of our evening, I'm ready for the romancing."_

_"Who said the ravishing was completed?"_

_Her smile was slow as she leaned over him again. "The woman who would like to walk in the morning." But her lips were brushing his as she spoke, waking up the part of his body that was still nestled inside of her._

_"Walking is over rated." He leaned in to take the kiss deeper, but she moved away._

_"Uh-uh. Romance me."_

_He moved until he could take her in his arms, pressing her chest to his, and adjusting her legs to wrap around his waist. Sliding his fingers into her hair, he took her mouth in a painfully slow kiss. Held her there until breathing became a necessity. "Can I ravish you, now?"_

_Happy to oblige the lips that danced likely along her jaw, she angled her head to give him better access. "This is nice, but I'm really not feeling romanced." His fingers began to whisper lightly along her neck, causing a shiver to run from the back of her neck straight down to the tips of her toes._

_"Oh what, oh what can I do..." His head fell back as if looking to heaven for help. She took this opportunity to bite at the dimple in his chin, then run her lips along the tightly corded muscles in his neck. "To give my baby a little romance?"_

_"The touching is nice." Her mouth was at his shoulder, wondered if she'd ever get enough of the taste of his skin. "You should definitely keep up the touching. But," She kissed the tip of his nose, before brushing it with her own. "It's not quite what I'm looking for."_

_"You trust me?"_

_"Yes." The answer was instantaneous, as was the way she relaxed her weight until he was supporting her entirely._

_He eased her back, giving his mouth more room to roam. Finding new places to kiss, bite, and mark. New points of pleasure that even she'd been unaware of. "_When I cannot look at your face I look at your feet. Your feet of arched bone, your hard little feet."

_"I better like where this is going." Though she couldn't complain about the journey his mouth took over her body, the way the words felt as they whispered along her skin._

"I know that they support you," _He continued as if she hadn't spoke. _"And that your sweet weight rises upon them." _His hands spanned her waist and traveled slowly upwards. _"Your waist and your breasts, the double purple of your nipples,"_ Her breath caught as his fingers, followed closely by his lips, danced over the corresponding body parts. _"The sockets of your eyes that have just flown away, your wide fruit mouth, your red tresses, my little tower." _He brought her back up until he could look into her heavy lidded eyes. _"But I love your feet only because they walked upon the earth and upon the wind and upon the waters, until they found me."

_"Red tresses?" She let out a shrieking laugh when he flipped her over onto her back. The hands that were only moments ago seducing her into a puddle of nerve endings began to tickle her mercilessly. "Okay! Sorry. Baby, please, I'm sorry. Stop." It took a few moments for her to get her breath back. "Romance achieved."_

_"With no help from you." He muttered as he settled over her, hands sliding under her shoulders to cup the back of her head._

_"The bright side is you can ravish me, now." Her legs tightened around his waist._

_His dark eyes suddenly became serious. "Nope, you ruined the romance." His lips brushed hers again, his hips moving in a slow, languorous rhythm. "I'm going to have to try to romance you again."_

_She sighed as she began to move along with him. "Well...I guess I'll just have to suffer through."_

* * *

Kneeling besides Chloe's bed, Lois fought the urge to shake her cousin. To demand she snap out of the misery she was sinking further into. Chloe was on the end of the bed, all but curled into herself as she clutched a worn book to her chest.

The day before when they'd returned to _The Planet_, Chloe had seemed fine. Even this morning, when Lois had stopped by her cousin's apartment before heading to the gym, Chloe had been in good spirits as she chased a laughing Declan around the apartment. But when she arrived back later in the afternoon, as was her habit during Declan's naps, Lois found her cousin in sobs.

"Chloe," Lois spoke her cousin's name softly, her voice thick with emotion. "Please. Please get up." When the knock sounded at the door, she gave a sigh of relief. "I'll be right back. Okay, cuz." But Chloe didn't answer and Lois had to hurry before the noise woke Declan.

"What the hell took you so long?" Lois demanded the second she opened the door. Any other time she'd have took a moment to appreciate the way her man looked in the slate gray suit. She loved the way he looked in CEO mode, loved peeling away those layers to get to the real man. Her man. But right now she barely saw him. "Where have you been?"

Oliver paused just inside the apartment door. "Hello to you, too, Lois."

"Sorry." Dropping her arms, Lois strode across the room to lock her arms around Oliver's neck. When his arms came around her, she was able to relax completely. "It's just...I hate seeing her like this. I can't stand it."

Oliver dropped a kiss to the top of her head, his hands soothing away the muscles that knotted in her neck. "What-"

"Wait." Lois shifted, until she could slide her arms under his. Burrowing into him; embarrassed, but none the less, mentally thanking whatever stroke of fate brought him back to her. "I need this for a moment. Just this." When he tightened his hold on her, she allowed herself a moment to simply be with him.

"What happened, Lois?"

"That's the thing, I don't know." With a frustrated sigh, Lois pulled back and lead him to the couch. "She was fine this morning. She was fine last night. After the press conference, when she tried to get an interview with Tess she got really sad but..."

"Why did she get sad?"

"Tess was trying to find the name of some poem..." Lois dropped her head in her hands. "Davis was big on poetry, big on reading. Whether or not the one Chloe told her about was the one Tess was looking for...I don't know, doesn't matter. It meant something to Chloe."

"Did you ask her about it?"

"No." And she knew what he would say. Knew he would push her to talk to Chloe about Davis. So she pressed on before he could. "But she was fine last night. When I stopped by before going to the gym she was fine. I came back and found her..." She made a restless movement with her hands. "Like that."

"Did you think," Oliver began slowly. This was a subject they went around and around about often. He knew she was sick of hearing it, but he would continue to press. "That maybe it would help her to talk-Now wait," He hurried on when it looked like she would argue. "Hear me out on this. She needs to talk about him, remember him."

"She talks to Declan." Lois mumbled.

"And she's loves it. We've all seen how happy it makes her to talk to Declan about Davis. Of the rest of us, Bart was the closest to Davis. And I know sometimes she talks to him. But he didn't know Davis, not really. You did, you knew him. You loved him. You miss him just like she does."

"But don't you see, that's just it. I miss him, but it's not like she does. Sometimes...sometimes I want so badly to tell her that I miss him, too. But I can't, because I don't....I don't ever want her to look at me..."

"The way she looked at Clark." Oliver finished softly. It happened a few weeks after Davis' memorial. Lois had called everyone together, hoping a little company would lift Chloe's spirits. Clark was trying to do the right thing, everyone understood that. Maybe a small part of Chloe did as well. But it was Clark and being Clark he managed to make Davis' death about himself. Compared her losing Davis to him losing Lana. Considering Lana had been in town for Davis' memorial, it had been the wrong comparison to make. "It wouldn't be like that. It wouldn't be like that at all."

Before Lois could respond, Declan stumbled from his room. Tiny fist rubbing the sleep from his eyes. When his hands dropped he looked to the living room, a smile blooming across his face. "Uncle Ollie." Declan shot across the room, launching himself into Oliver's arms.

"Deco." Oliver stood up so he could lift Declan up into his arms. "I heard you went and spent some time with your Uncle AC."

"Saw a shork."

"It was a dolphin." Lois corrected. "AC cleared that up yesterday."

Oliver nodded. "You still love your Uncle Ollie best, though, right?"

Nodding, Declan kissed Oliver on the cheek before wrapping his arms around his neck tightly.

"Alright. But I think it's only fair that since, you hung with Uncle AC yesterday; you have to hang out with me today. What do you say, Deco? Want to hang out with your Uncle Ollie?"

"Ollie-"

"Hey," Oliver interrupted LOis' protest. "I've got to maintain my status as number one uncle. The fish stick has been encroaching a lot lately. Which is why me and the Snorkel puss are going to..."

"Fish stowa!"

"You got it." Oliver pulled Lois to his side, the arm not holding Declan wrapping around her waist. "And you can talk to your cousin."

"You're right. Wonder of wonders." She leaned in to place a light kiss on his lips. "Don't leave I have to let Chloe know what's going on."

A few moments later the cousin's emerged from the bedroom. Chloe had obviously just washed away her tears, but her eyes were still red and puffy. But there was an easy and sincere smile on her face when she looked at her son.

"Oliver." All Chloe had to do was hold out her arms to have Declan abandoning Oliver. "Trying to kidnap my baby."

"Just securing my standing."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Right." She set Declan back on his feet. "Go get your backpack and hat." She waited until he disappeared into his bedroom. "Let's try to keep the crazy spending to a minimum this time."

Oliver looked honestly affronted. "Hey, I've never gotten him anything extravagant."

"You built him a daycare."

"I built _The Planet_ a daycare, Declan just happens to benefit from it."

"You hired Bart to care for him personally."

"I gave Bart a legit job, which you told me he needed, at _The Planet's _daycare facility."

"You bought him a motorcycle."

"One of those little toy ones that kids across America have."

"It was a custom made Ducati."

For that Oliver had nothing, so was glad when Declan appeared holding a backpack that was nearly as big as he was.

Chloe knelt until she was eye level with him. "Be good." She adjusted the straps on his backpack. Leaned in to brush the tip of his nose with her own. "I love you, son."

"Love you, too, Mommy. Love you much." His arms went around her neck to squeeze before he ran to Oliver's side. "Bye Auntie."

"Bye, Dimples." Lois waited until the door closed at his back. "We'll be lucky if he doesn't come back here with a Porsche." Even as she stood there, Chloe's entire countenance changed. The smile was gone, her body seemed to be weighed down, as she turned to head back to bed. "He's still carrying Davis' backpack?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. He keeps all his shells and toy fish in there."

"He's with his fish the way Davis was with his books, isn't he?"

Chloe's brow creased a moment as she studied her cousin. Lois felt her heart quicken a bit, thought about back tracking, of telling Chloe to forget she said anything. But then a bit of a smile began to curl the corner's of Chloe's lips. "Yeah he is. I'm beginning to think it's a Kryptonian thing; that kind of dedicated obsession. And the photographic memory. _Your Feet_ by Pablo Neruda," Her breath caught as she seemed determined to hold back her tears. "Davis...he...recited it to me the night I moved in with him."

"Do...do you want to talk about it?"

Chloe nodded, but said nothing else as she continued to wipe away the tears she could not control.


	5. A firstrate organizer

**I disclaim. I own nothing.**

_**A first-rate organizer is never in a hurry. He is never late. He always keeps up his sleeve a margin for the unexpected.--**_** Arnold Bennett**

_"Baby," The word was spoken whisper soft against his ear, her lips brushing the sensitive shell, sending a shiver straight down his spine. He didn't want to open his eyes, especially when he was to busy enjoying the feel of her lips travelling along his jaw. So gave a displeased moan that had her lips curving against the warm skin of his neck. "I know baby, but you're drooling and people are starting to stare."_

_His eyes popped open and he shot up, a confused frown marring his handsome face as he took in his surroundings. Wall to wall furniture, a few well dressed men and women lounging by the door, not to mention the people milling around a few casting strange looks in his direction. His hand quickly went to his mouth, giving a sigh of relief to discover he hadn't been drooling. "Funny."_

_Her arms came around his shoulders, leaning down until she could press her cheek to his. "I wasn't joking. You were snoring. Loudly."_

_"Sorry." But he rested his head back against her shoulder, fully prepared to fall back to sleep._

_"You know, you can go home and go back to bed."_

_He turned his head until his face was buried in her neck, taking in the appealing mix of strawberries and vanilla that clung to her skin. "I'm okay." When he lifted his arms to arch his back in a full body stretched, she simply draped her body over his shoulder. Her hand slipped under the hem of his sweatshirt, her nails running along his stomach. "You keep that up and these people are really going to have something to stare at."_

_Much to his disappointment she pushed off of him, going to sit in the chair adjacent to the one he occupied. Stretching one arm out he lay his head back down._

_"My poor baby." She placed a hand on his stubble roughened cheek. Leaning in to press her lips to the adorably sleepy pout on his. "Just go home, I'll be right behind you."_

_Instead of letting her pull away, he hooked his arm behind her head; keeping her mouth a fraction of an inch from his. "Then there's no point of me leaving without you. Besides, we're buying a kitchen table, not a house. Shouldn't be long, right?"_

_"Forty-five minutes ago I would have agreed with you." Her eyes began to drift close now. "Now I'm not so sure."_

"Sir. Excuse me sir, you're next."

Lucas frowned at the woman standing behind him, who's face was decidedly more pleasant than the obviously annoyed woman behind the counter in front of him. "Right. Sorry." He said it first quietly to the woman behind him, before looking down the line to all the people behind her. "Sorry."

"What can we do for you today, Sir?"

"Yeah, I just need a copy of my phone bill."

"Are you aware that you could have just gone to our website and requested a copy?"

"Actually, yes, I'm very aware of that."

"A simple phone request would have saved you a trip as well."

Lucas mentally collected himself, he understood the woman didn't like her job. He just didn't understand why she had to be such an asshole about it. "I did call, but they said they couldn't give me a copy."

"Did they say why?"

The fact that he'd spent the last two days on the phone with these people didn't put him in a better frame of mind to deal with them in person. Praying for patience, he shoved a tightly clenched fist into his pocket. "No. Just that they couldn't give me the information that I wanted."

"What's the number?"

Lucas recited the number he'd been repeating constantly for two days. "The name on the account is Luthor."

"And your name."

"Lucas Luthor."

She scrolled through the screen. "I'm sorry, Mr. Luthor, but you're not authorized to receive information regarding this account."

Despite the fact that everything in his body demanded he put his fist through the desk, Lucas instead took five calming breaths. "How am I not authorized to receive information on an account that's in _my _name, in _my home._"

"Actually, Mr. Luthor your name isn't on the account. There's a Tess Luthor."

"Tess is my wife. Look, all I want is a phone number."

"I understand that, but your name is not on the account therefore I can not give you any information. Now if you want to come back with your wife or at least have her call and add your name to the account, we can get you the information you want but until then...."

Because he could actually see himself dragging the woman across the counter and shaking the holy hell out of her, Lucas walked away. This was just fucking ridiculous. How was it that he had no control over any aspect of his life. It was like he was being held hostage. It didn't make any sense. If Tess didn't-couldn't-trust him, why would she remain married to him. What was the point of them both suffering?

"Lucas? Lucas Luthor, right?"

Turning he came face to face with the same young woman he'd met in the book store over a week ago. "Yeah. You're Emma."

She smiled. "Have you been helped?"

"I've been seen." He gave his tie an impatient yank. "But I wouldn't say I've been helped."

He looked so miserable, Emma would have sworn he was just the saddest man she'd ever seen. "Come on." She nearly sighed when he looked up at her with those dark hopeful eyes. Had to remind herself she was a happily married woman. "I'm here from corporate to reorganize this branch, I can get the information you want." When the smile bloomed beautifully across his lips, she actually did sigh. No wonder Lucy had been practically obsessed with him.

Lucas followed her to the back of the building, shooting a smug grin to the woman who'd been so bitchy to him earlier.

"You're going to have to excuse the mess." She moved around the cluttered desk. "I'm working out of the branch manager's office. And don't have any where to actually put my things."

The mess didn't really register with him. His heart was racing, his hands shaking as he could barely sit still.

"The number on the account."

Lucas rattled it off again, hoped she didn't really pick up on the nerves in his voice. His hands wanted to shake, so he ran them along his thighs. When that didn't help he reached for one of the many books stacked on the desk, desperate to keep himself from shooting through the roof.

"It's obsessive I know. But the moment I found out I was pregnant, I bought every book I could get my hands on."

With a frown he took in her sly smile before looking down at the book in his hands. "No, it's fine. After my wife told me she was pregnant I read every book ever made."

"How far along is she?"

"Huh?"

"Your wife. How far along in her pregnancy is she?"

Lucas felt his chest tighten painfully, he hadn't even been fully aware of the words that came out of his mouth. "We're not...I mean she's..."

_"Seven months today." He was standing in line at a busy coffee shop talking to a shorter curly haired blond kid. The tiny blonde beside him was heavily pregnant._

_"You wear it well, 'Licious."_

_"The two of you are so good for my ego." She smiled beautifully at the two of them._

_"Hey, you want to see something really cool." Reaching over he lifted her top, giving the kid a quick flash of her belly before she slapped his hand away._

_"Didn't I tell you to stop doing that."_

"Mr. Luthor? Mr. Luthor, are you alright?" He'd gone white as a sheet, trembling hands causing him to drop the book.

Lucas stood up quickly, knocking the chair over in his haste to stand. "I have to go..."

"But I have the information-"

"I can't...I'm sorry...but..." Words were lost to him. He couldn't give her an explanation, because he didn't understand himself what was going on. So he turned and ran. Mind moving at nearly twice the speed as his legs carried him.

* * *

"She works at the bank."

"Please tell me you aren't stalking this girl."

"I think she's a finance...she does something with money."

From behind her newspaper, Dinah rolled her eyes. "Obviously. You know instead of being creepy stalker guy, why don't you just call Chloe or Lois and get her number."

"I'm being charming pop up guy."

"It's not charming, it's scary." On the other end of the, Dinah heard a very distinct giggle. "Where the hell are you anyway?"

"Ah...Deckie got a new fish tank. He wanted me to see it."

"You're in Metropolis." Dinah just barely resisted the urge to scream. But even as she slammed the paper down on her lap, she earned strange looks from the man on the bench besides her.

"Why is this a problem all of a sudden?"

"You-" Dinah brought the paper back up to her face. "Are you telling me you've been going back and forth the entire time we've been here? You little...I haven't seen my nephew in forever and you've been with him every day since we got here. Bring him here, I want to see him."

"Yeah right. 'Licious will kill me."

"Then come get me and take me to him."

"So Ollie can kill me?"

"If I don't see my nephew _I'm_ going to kill you. So, pick your poison."

"Damn. It."

"It's your shift anyway." There was a commotion a few yards away; like a hurricane had blown through the area. Papers were scattered, a few people were on the ground. "Are you back here?"

"No. Why?"

"It looks like you and Declan just ran through here."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just..."

Instantly, Dinah jumped to her feet. Eyes searching frantically through the crowd for the owner of that voice. "What the hell?"

"Hey, Di. Di, you okay?"

"Yeah...I thought...You're going to think I'm crazy but I could have sworn I just heard Davis."

* * *

"I'm going to be a dad."

"Lucas." Lex leaned back against his desk. "Gentlemen, I believe you know my brother."

He'd been in such state that he hadn't even been aware of other people in the room. "Sorry." And it seemed as if he were saying that a lot lately. "I'm sorry, Lex. I am. But I really need to talk to you."

"Of course. We were just wrapping up."

Lucas stepped aside as the men began to file out of the room.

"I, actually, don't believe we've been formally introduced. I'm Bruce Wayne."

"Mr. Wayne, it's nice to meet you." Lucas tried not to hurry the man along. Or demand why he was staring so intently. Instead he reminded himself that the business was very important to his brother, that it was important that he at all times best represent the company. "I look forward to working with you."

"Same. And congratulations." Bruce nodded to both brothers before following the other men out of the office, making sure to close the door at his back.

"Now," Lex stepped around the desk to settled himself in his chair. "What's this about you being a father?" There was a catch, he just knew there was. Things couldn't possibly be as simple as Tess finally proving herself useful and getting pregnant.

"There was just one woman, Lex. The blonde, I was in love with her. I'm in love with her."

"You don't remember her." Lex pointed out smoothly.

"I remember she smells like strawberries. That she has the most amazing green eyes. And three moles on her cheek. And a smile," He trailed off as something clinched in his chest. "A smile that's just...everything. But most importantly, I remember that she was pregnant. With my baby. She's out there somewhere, Lex. Probably missing me, wondering where I am. Just like I am about her. I have to find her."

Leaning back in his chair, Lex said nothing as he watched the other man pace frantically across the room. The poor bastard was actually in love with his wife. The scientist in him was intrigued, wanted to explore the brain, find out how it was that a man who couldn't even remember who _he_ was could still feel love for a woman he no longer knew. The manipulator in him saw an opportunity. "Sit down, Lucas."

"I can't. I can't sit down, I can't think clearly. I can't do anything but want her. I have to know who she is."

Reaching into his desk, Lex pulled out a folder. "I know who she is." That caught the other man's attention. "Sit down." Because it was fun, Lex held on to the folder for a bit. "Here."

With shaking hands, Lucas reached for the folder. He thought his heart had stopped when he opened the folder and saw her. That face. That amazing face that haunted his dreams. She was younger, it looked like a high school picture maybe. But she was no less beautiful, no less vibrant then she'd been in his dreams. His hands swiped impatiently at the tears that clouded his vision. He loved her. He didn't know her, but he loved her. "Who...she..."

"Her name was Chloe Sullivan."

The memories came back, a series of moments that he didn't know how he could forget. Seeing her on the street, an angel in the midst of chaos:

_'Thank God you heard me.'_

_'You're hard to miss.'_

Smiling at her across a table. Feeling everything inside him melt at the sight of her smile:

_'Everything with you is so..'_

_'So easy.'_

Sitting with her in a near empty apartment. She was wrapped around him, his arms holding her as if afraid she'd run away. There was a smile playing on her lips as her fingers moved over him:

_'Because I love you. I'm in love with you. I know it's not Bronte but-'_

_'Say it again.'_

_'I love you.'_

"Why?" When he looked up at his brother, the tears did nothing to mask the utter fury in his eyes. "You knew who she was. You knew and you didn't tell me. Why?"

It was better then Lex could have hoped for really. Because he was sure Davis was only moments away from ripping his throat out. Would probably blaze a path all the way back to Metropolis to get to her. This was it. This is what he wanted. "I thought it would be better this way."

"Better." There was a growl in his voice as he rose to his feet. "How," He demanded. "How could it possibly be better this way?"

"Because she's dead, Lucas." He saw it then, the life and the fight go right out of Davis Bloome. Now he was empty in a way Lex had wanted. From here he could build Davis Bloome into what he wanted.

"No," He couldn't believe that. He'd just found her, she couldn't be dead. "The other day...on the phone...the little boy..." Is this what dying felt like, he wondered. "I spoke...she can't be...the baby...Lex please."

"This is why I thought it was better you didn't remember." Lex came around the desk now. Leaning forward to place a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "You suffered so much the first time, I didn't want to put you through it again. I'm sorry, Lucas, but she's gone. Chloe Sullivan and the child she carried, your child, they're..." He placed his hand on the back of the younger man's neck. "They're dead."

"What...how..."

And that was the question Lex had been waiting for. The smirk battled at the corner's of his mouth, but he kept it from ever forming. "A man named Clark Kent took them from you."


	6. A Little Truth

**I disclaim. I own nothing.**

**AN: I know I suck, but I lost my muse on this one. Then I had trouble with the pacing, I didn't want to rush it, but I didn't want to drag it out either. The more I thought about the more I decided to keep going the way I was, it's what made the most sense. So I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter and don't hate me too much for leaving this one hanging for so long.**

**

* * *

**

**If you wish to strengthen a lie, mix a little truth in with it-**_**Zohar**_

"How..." Lucas was sitting on the couch in his brother's office, a glass of scotch cradled in his hands. He couldn't stop shaking, couldn't stop the clenching in his chest. "Where...How did we meet?"

"As you know, I lived in Smallville, Kansas for a little while after college. Well, one summer you came down to visit me. And..."

"There was an accident." Lucas interjected, remembering the chaos, the cries, the confusion. So deep in his own thoughts was he, he didn't notice his brother's momentary confusion.

"Right." Lex agreed, sure that his confusion wasn't reflected in his voice. "Smallville was prone to accidents. You took one look at Chloe and that was it."

"And this guy...Clark?"

Lex pulled out another file, shifting through pages until he came across the yearbook picture declaring Chloe and Clark 'best friends'. "They were very close." He handed the picture to Davis. "It wasn't enough for him. He was possessive. He'd been in love with her for years, a borderline stalker. And he just couldn't stand the thought of her with anyone else but," Lex cut himself off. The lines between fact and fiction were beginning to blur. "Especially the thought of her with you."

Looking at another picture of her, seeing her so young, so happy, he didn't understand how anyone could hurt her. Didn't understand how anyone could see that smile and not do everything in their power to keep it there.

"He hounded her the entire time you were together. He caused trouble at your wedding. Got a few friends together shortly after and tried to kill you. That's when Chloe cut him out of her life…"

Dropping his head in his hand, Lucas tried to block out the sound of his brother's voice. He asked, but he couldn't stand to hear anymore. Everything Lex spoke of he remembered. His wedding to Chloe, a feeling beyond anything he'd ever known when she promised to never let him go. He remembered seeing this Clark, the argument between them was fuzzy, but the way Chloe smiled when she stepped between them was crystal clear. He couldn't remember the pain from the attack, anymore then he could remember his attackers. But he remembered Chloe, the fear in her eyes when she saw him in the hospital.

So he didn't want to hear what Lex had to say next. He didn't want to remember how he lost her. Every memory of her came with a wave of love so intense he could hardly stand it. He didn't want to relive her loss, he wouldn't be able to bare it.

"She was everything in the world that mattered to me." The words were spoken thickly, painfully, but with absolute certainty.

Lex nodded his agreement, his eyes lighting with his victory. "And Clark Kent took her away from you."

* * *

"A salt water aquarium, Ollie."

Oliver tried the charming grin that always got him out of hot water with Lois. "It's what the kid wanted."

"We're trying to teach him to respect-"

"Okay, can it with the respect the ocean stuff for now, AC." Chloe pressed her fingers to her eyes, trying to ease the pressure building. "My main issue is the unbelievable amount of work that goes into taking care of one of these things."

One corner of her apartment was loaded with the supplies she needed to set up her son's new fish tank. There was a tank (fifty freaking gallons), several bags of salt, an empty five gallon bucket, a thermometer, bags of live sand, boxes of live rocks, filters, and few things she didn't even know what she was suppose to do with. And clutched in her hand was several pages of written instructions that Declan came back from the fish store with. "We can't even put fish in there for like six weeks. This is ridiculous, you're doing it. No, he's not taking it back." Chloe interrupted the argument she knew AC would make. "It would break Declan's heart. But Ollie, you will set this thing up and come over regularly to help him care for it."

"Actually Chloe," Dinah, who arrived only moments ago, spoke up. She was already pissy because Clark had run off with Declan before she even got here. And now Oliver was throwing his money around trying to show them all up. "I think he should have to take it back and then explain to Declan why he no longer has fish."

"Because his mommy's a meanie." Oliver mumbled, earning a withering look from Chloe.

"Because it's not good for the fish." AC corrected.

"Because I didn't buy it for him." Dinah snapped out. "It's not fair. I want to buy him stuff and Ollie always beats me to it."

"Okay, you know what." Chloe interrupted. "This week alone Declan has rode a dolphin, got a new fish tank, four lightsabers, and whatever the hell this thing is." She picked up the toy that was perched on the back of the couch.

"It's a Naboo fighter." Lois added helpfully. "And you bought that for him, cuz."

"No, I didn't. You did."

"I bought him the Jedi fighter. Naboo fighter was you."

Chloe frowned at the toy in her hand. "Right, whatever. The point is you guys are spoiling him and I think it's time to throttle back on that."

"You're right." Victor nodded agreeably. "But just so we're clear; Ollie's the only one in the dog house, right?"

Chloe eyed Victor wearily. "What did you buy?"

"That's the thing, I didn't buy him anything. But you know that _V-Tech_ motorcycle game he had, well I added a few modifications. It's so awesome, the kid's going to love it."

Chloe considered this for a moment, knowing whatever Victor did was a lot more then the simplification he gave her. But odds were it wasn't anything like what Oliver just did. "Yes, Oliver in the only one in the dog house."

Everyone turned to laugh at him just as Clark came in, Declan settled comfortably in his arms.

"Mommy! Mommy! Uncle Clock got me a puppy."

Oliver grinned broadly. "I'm out and Boyscout is in."

Moments later Clark stood inside Chloe's bedroom nervously shuffling his feet. He didn't need anyone to explain what Oliver had meant when he said 'Boyscout is in'. Chloe was pissed, so pissed she couldn't even talk to him in front of the others. So pissed that the guys left to avoid the blowback. Dinah had snatched up Declan before anyone else could, promising Chloe she'd be back in a few hours.

"What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't?" Which, from the disbelieving look on Chloe's face, was clearly not the correct answer. "Look, Chlo, I know what I did wrong. I should have called you. But I didn't intend to do this when I picked him up. I probably shouldn't have even taken him back to the farm with the puppies still there, but my mom was home, and she wanted to see him. When he saw the puppies, he did that thing he does that makes it really hard to say no."

"You mean ask." No matter what any of them said, Chloe knew all her son had to do was ask to have his aunts and uncles tripping over themselves to give him what he wanted. And she had this conversation with all of them. Repeatedly. But it was hard, so hard, to remain angry when she knew how much they all loved her son. Knew just how crazy they all were about him. And just how enthusiastically Declan returned those feelings.

"And he said please. 'Please, Uncle Clock'. What was I suppose to say to that, Chlo?"

Because it honestly seemed like Clark was asking her opinion, Chloe couldn't help but to smile. "Clark," Dropping onto the foot of the bed, she gave a defeated sigh. "He can't keep that puppy. We don't have the room."

"Maybe not here…" There was a warning in Chloe's eyes that Clark chose to ignore. "At the farm-"

"Clark."

"There's room for Dec to play, to have ten dogs if he wanted them." This wasn't the first time they had this conversation. Clark knew it wouldn't be the last, but it was a point he could not drop. He wanted Chloe and Declan with him, had convinced himself it was what Davis would have wanted as well. "And when he starts to develop abilities-"

"If." It was something Chloe was holding on to. There'd been nothing, other then the quick turn around he made as a baby, to suggest he'd even develop abilities. Granted she wasn't prepared to drive a pole through him as Faora had with Davis. As far as that went, Chloe was prepared to wait it out. "We don't know if he will."

Because he knew this conversation could spiral into an argument over whether or not Declan would develop abilities, Clark bit back his initial comment. "Dec loves it on the farm."

"He loves you." Chloe corrected. "He'd love it anywhere you were. Just as he loves it anywhere he's with AC or Victor or Dinah. Clark," She patted the spot besides her on the bed, held back the smile at the dejected way he made his way over. "I know you're just trying to take care of us. But if I move in with you, it'll only confuse Declan in the long run. And I don't want us to be your insta-family."

"That's not what I'm doing." But his voice lacked the conviction to make the denial convincing.

"Isn't it? I love you for what you're trying to do, but it's not necessary." She saw the fight go out of him, but she wasn't fooled into believing this would be the last time they'd have this conversation.

"What about the puppy?"

"Well, when Dinah gets back with him you're going explain to your nephew why she has to go back to the farm."

"Chloe, I can't take the puppy back. It'll crush him. He'll hate me."

"I'm sorry, Clark."

"But you didn't make Oliver take back the fish tank."

"That fish tank isn't going to chew on my shoes or pee on my rugs." Standing she gave his hand a useless tug. "Come on, big guy. It'll only hurt for a minute."

"He's going to cry." And as far as Clark was concerned the only thing worse then Chloe crying _was_ Declan crying. "Please, Chlo." He used the puppy eyes that worked so well on her in the past.

Chloe shook her head. "You're not going to change my mind on this. Now, let's go. The sooner you get this over with, the better it'll be for everyone."

* * *

"Well son," Settling the hood on top of the tank, Chloe flicked on the light before stepping back to admire her work. Hours and hours of work she was going to pay Ollie back for in spades. It never would have occured to her that mixing salt water would involve so many steps. "What do you think?"

Excitement having robbed him of words, Declan could only clap his hands and all but squeal in glee.

Laughing, Chloe swung him up into her arms. "I'll take that as a thumbs up. Ready for your bath?"

"No way, Mommy."

"Oh, yes way, you little stinky bear." She couldn't help but laugh at the way he scrunched up his nose and sniffed loudly. "The sooner you take your bath, the sooner you can watch _Clone Wars_." The fact that she had to negotiate with him already, she knew, was going to be a problem when he got older.

"_Clone Wars!_" He threw his arms up in excitement. "Let's go, Mommy, let's go. Come on, Soka."

Chloe looked back at the puppy curled up on one of her throw pillows. She still wasn't entirely sure how the puppy ended up staying. At the sound of Declan's voice the puppy stumbled to her feet, yawned, stretched, and proceeded to leave a ridiculously large puddle in the middle of the floor. In that instant, Chloe decided she was going to kill Clark.

* * *

There were things about the new guy in her life that Dinah absolute loved, like his sad blue eyes, the way he looked in an impeccably tailored suit, and that she didn't have to keep her secret from him. But as with all things in life, there was an opposing list. A list of things that she absolutely did not love. And at the top of that list was his habit of showing up at her apartment unannounced. And therefore scaring the holy hell out of her. She honestly didn't understand and was convinced he did it on purpose, because there was no way the concept of a quick phone call or text was escaping him.

"Damn it, Bruce." She didn't have to ask how he got into her room. There wasn't a place on earth that Bruce Wayne couldn't charm his way into.

He didn't jump, didn't apologize. Actually he didn't even turn from the window to greet her. "How was the kid?"

Dinah frowned, Bruce rarely if ever involved himself in the personal side of the league. If she didn't know any better, she'd believed he frowned upon the familial closeness they all shared. But getting to know him as she had over the past few months, Dinah realized his distance from them was a way to protect himself. "Perfect. How was Lex duty?"

"Interesting."

There was something about the way he said it, about the peculiar frown on his face, that had Dinah studying him more closely. "What? What is it?"

Bruce shook his head, considered not saying anything at all, but couldn't shake the suspicion that had been with him since he left Lex's office. "You wouldn't, by chance, have any pictures of Davis Bloome with you?"


	7. Do Not Lie

**I disclaim. I don't own anything.**

_Please don't lie to me, unless you're absolutely sure I'll never find out the truth-__**Ashleigh Brilliant**_

"You told him she was dead."

"Having been there when I said it," Lex leaned back in his chair, the amusement he felt at the beginning of Tess' visit quickly turning to annoyance. "I'm very much aware of this."

"But she's not dead."

"I'm aware of that as well."

Tess opened her mouth, only to bite down on her bottom lip. In order to make sure _she_ wasn't the one that had gone completely insane, she went over everything she'd said in the last twenty minutes. And after some thought she realized that telling Davis that Chloe was dead when she was, in fact, decidedly _not_ dead was an exceptionally bad idea. "What happens when he finds out-"

"Why would he find out?" Lex's interruption, though delivered calmly, was the only sign of his impatience. "He has a death certificate, an obituary, and picture of her tombstone."

"He also has the name of a man who's not only very much aware that Chloe isn't dead, but is in the best position to produce her in the blink of an eye."

"But he won't. You see, when Lucas tries to kill Clark, which I assure you he will, it's going to confirm everything Clark initially thought about him. And in that moment, Clark is going to do what he does best," Standing from his desk, Lex walked over to his wet bar. Though he craved something just a little stronger, he stuck with water. He was tired of doing all the thinking, all the planning. But even now he would not allow Tess' ineptness to ruin this, he'd never been so close to what he wanted. "He's going to decide what's best for Chloe, without taking her needs into consideration. He won't tell her. He's going to make matters worse."

Tess nodded. It didn't seem in her best interest to tell Lex he was doing a bang up job of making matters worse all on his own.

* * *

"It's not possible."

"I'm not saying it's him, Di. I'm just saying that Lucas Luthor and Davis Bloome could-"

"No." Even as hope spread through her like wild fire, Dinah shook her head in denial. She couldn't believe this, couldn't believe it only to have it not be true. "I saw, we all saw him go down with that beast."

Instead of looking at her, Bruce looked to the open laptop on the table in front of them. Everything with Dinah was still new, still at that casual stage. He tried very hard to keep it casual, or at least maintain casual to her, that he couldn't bring himself to look at the conflict that played so clearly on her face. Couldn't pay attention to that part of himself that wanted to fix this for her.

Shaking her head, Dinah stood up to pace the room. "It's not Davis. He wouldn't be able to stay away from Chloe."

"The accident you described, the damage that Davis would have sustained." Bruce spoke slowly, as if trying to soothe a spooked horse. "He may not remember, Luthor could be using that."

Of course that was possible, if she'd learned nothing else, anything was possible. But still, "He loved her so much. Not even an 20ft intergalactic monster could keep him from her, he fought that everyday for her. I just don't see anything as mundane as amnesia stopping him."

"So what game do you think Luthor is playing? According to reports, Lucas was in a pretty bad accident. Do you really think Lex would use that as an opportunity to reconstruct his brother's face to look like Chloe's dead husband? Does he really hate her that much?

"Chloe?" Dinah made a lazy movement with her shoulders. "Maybe. Chloe _and_ Clark, yeah. Either way, we find out what's going on. We have access to some of the sharpest minds, best labs, and the two fastest men on the planet. This plan practically plots itself."

"Do we tell Chloe?"

Dinah's knee-jerk reaction was no. She couldn't imagine what it would do to Chloe. But at the same time, whether or not this was Davis, Chloe needed to be aware of Lex's games. "I don't know." The words tasted bitter. "She should know, but can you imagine what this could do to her. I wish I knew, but I just don't know what to do."

* * *

"Listen, you let Governor Graham know that this story is going to print, there's nothing he can do to stop that." The frown that graced Chloe's face when the intern stopped in front of her desk only deepened at the message he handed her. She gave an impatient nod, before turning her attention back to the phone. "Now he can get ahead of this thing and give me a quote or he can just wait for the blow back. You have my number." Hanging up the phone, Chloe made a quick note of the call before shooting an email off to Lois.

"Sullivan, we need to talk about your expense report."

Glancing across the room at the harried accountant slowly making her way towards her, Chloe began to move faster towards the glass doors. "I can't now, Barb. Get back to me later." It had more to do with her height then actual skill, but she managed to get outside the news room and lost in the returning lunch crowd.

As with most things that involved co-workers being pissed at her, this was Lois' fault. Against her better judgment Chloe allowed Lois to put a few things on her report. Granted they were actual necessities that the accountants were being bitchy about, but they were now hounding Chloe, wanting her to go over every item. It was a inconvenience she was not at all in the mood for. And made a promise to herself that she was not going to talk to any of the accountants until they trapped her.

Taking the stairs up the two necessary flights, it didn't take Chloe long to reach the daycare facility. The place was a bright, high tech playground. Ollie had spared no expense. The place was filled with games-both educational and recreational-toys and books. The staff fully accredited teachers and pediatric nurses.

"Hi, Chris." Chloe gave the young woman behind the front desk an absent smile as she signed her son out for the rest of the day.

One look through the glass doors she caught sight of Declan sitting apart from the rest of the kids, his unhappiness clear on his face. When he looked up and saw her, his bottom lip trembled and his eyes filled with tears. Standing, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him, ignoring the warnings of the teachers, his arms were locked around his mother's legs before she was even in the room.

"Declan." Chloe tried to make her voice firm, when she lifted him into her arms but his tears were soaking her blouse, his sniffles breaking her heart.

"Mrs. Bloome. Mrs. Bloome, can I have just a moment of your time?"

"Ms. Thompson," Chloe gave an apologetic smile as she turned to the Director. "I'm really sorry. I came down as soon as I could."

"That's not what I wanted to talk about," Placing her hand on the younger woman's arm, Ms. Thompson lead the reporter back out to the lobby. "It's Declan's behavior. Normally, when Bart is here, he's very well behaved. But when Bart isn't we get behavior like today."

"Bart's his uncle, he misses him." Absently Chloe reached back to untangle Declan's hand from her hair. "He's just a little boy and he doesn't know how to deal with that."

"I agree that's part of it. But not all. Declan doesn't socialize with the other children, at all. Even when he observes Bart playing with the other children, he just walks away." Ms. Thompson was very much aware that this was a delicate situation. "Declan is a very smart little boy, but he's been spoiled and made to feel as though he deserves to be the center of attention." She paused, thinking she was already in for penny. "Which is why I don't believe he's the problem. Not entirely."

Jaw clenched to keep from letting loose with a rant of Lois proportions, Chloe spoke slowly "What would you say was the problem?"

"You and your cousin were both raised by single fathers. Clark Kent lost his own father quite tragically. Bart lists you, Declan, and Lois as his family. It's no secret that Oliver Queen lost his parents when he was just a child. You all understand lost, share a pain not only with one another but with Declan as well. However, though well intentioned, you can't replace his father with-"

It took a self-restraint Chloe wasn't entirely aware of possessing to keep from flying off the handle. "Okay, that's enough. My son misses his uncle and is acting out because of it. I'll talk to him about it, he'll be fine tomorrow. I don't need for you to psychoanalyze our family." Determined not to leave in a childish huff, Chloe shifted Declan on her hips before standing and marching determinedly away.

It wasn't like she was completely unaware of the these issues, Chloe doubted any of them were unaware of what they were doing. And she knew it had to stop, she told them repeatedly that their spoiling Declan was going to cause more problems in the long run. But on the other hand she understood why they were doing it. None of them wanted Declan growing up feeling as they had. It was hard to explain to someone else what the loss of a parent could do to a child, to not know that other part of yourself. And it was going to be harder for Declan, because of who and what his father was. So maybe she wanted to make things easier for him now. She was his mother, who herself had lost a parent in much the same way, how could she not want something different for him.

Going back to her desk, Chloe put the whole issue out of her mind. Realized there was no point worrying over it now, when it was likely to keep her awake tonight. With her son settled happily under her desk, she got back to work.

"Shut it down, little cuz." Lois' voice was brimming with excitement as she leaned over Chloe's desk. "Just got a call from the bartender at Towers. Governor Graham is meeting a top ranking Luthorcorp exec for drinks in twenty minutes."

Before Chloe could even think to grab her purse, Declan's head popped up from under her desk.

"Lo-Lo." With a bright grin, Declan climbed into her mother's lap, over her desk, and into Lois' arms.

"Hello, love of my life." Lois covered her nephew's cheeks with kisses. As always the stress of her day floating away at the sight of the little boy's smile. She knew what people thought of her, could guess at the things they said about her behind her back. But none of it mattered, because in her arms was unconditional love. Aside from Chloe, no one had ever loved her the way Declan had. "Why is he up here?"

"Long story." She bit her lip as she considered her options. "I can't take him back to daycare." Thought she may never take him back there again, before she realized that would make her a coward. Not to mention it would prove Thompson right. But he couldn't go back today, it would only upset him more then he already was. And make life a living hell for everyone else.

"Uncle Clock!"

Looking towards the door, Chloe saw her best friend. He didn't seem entirely comfortable in the black slacks and charcoal sweater. But the frown he wore was quickly replaced with an easy grin when he saw Declan.

Declan ran full speed at him but Clark was quick to scoop the little boy up before he could hurt himself. He'd tried to get a word in as Chloe and Lois ran through what had lead them up to this point. They were talking over each other but he managed to picked up something about a lead, a quote, and a temper tantrum at daycare. If they'd taken a moment to breathe he'd have told them Dinah needed him in London, that he wasn't sure how long he'd be gone. But they were both so excited and taking Declan along wouldn't be a hardship, so all he said was:

"Sure I'll watch him. No problem."

* * *

"_Aw, come on, cuz. Don't you want to be sur__prised?"_

"_The baby will either be a boy or a girl. It's not much of a surprise. Besides, I can't believe you of all people want me to wait."_

"_I know right, I'm surprising even myself here."_

_He followed the sound the women's laughter until he reached them. The tall brunette was leaning down, her hand placed on the blonde's stomach, and near identical smiles on both their faces._

"_I wish I could support your growth here, cousin. But I don't think I could stand the doctor knowing what I'm having when I don't."_

"_Yes, Chloe Sullivan's ever desperate need to know _everything_."_

"_It's in the blood."_

"_That it is." The brunette stood back, leaning casually against the bookshelf behind her. "So, I'm going to need to borrow your husband."_

"_Considering I never got my flat iron back…"_

"_The difference is she can't keep me in a drawer in her bathroom." Sidling up to the small blonde he wrapped an arm around her waist, unable to keep himself from touching her stomach as well. Trying to gage if it had grown since yesterday._

"_You'd be surprised." She leaned into him. "So what do you need my husband for?"_

"_He's never seen _The Three Amigos." _The brunette seemed to be positively scandalized. "Never even heard of it. I don't know how you allow this, Chloe, I really don't."_

_Chloe rolled her eyes. "I'm a horrible wife."_

"_That's why I'm here. I'll be over on Saturday. Dimples and I are going to make a day of it." She flashed a smile that was full of fun. "I'm going to fix him for you."_

"_Lois Lane," Chloe gestured to the woman opposite her. "The cure for all that you didn't know ailed you."_

The sound of the book hitting the floor snapped Lucas out of the memory. Knowing now that it was indeed a memory was a relief unlike any he'd known before. If there was any problem with the memories, other than desperately missing a woman lost to him forever, was that he was losing himself in them. So he wasn't aware of how long he stood in the aisle at the bookstore, staring into space. Wondered that no one called security on the strange man in children's lit section.

It had been three days since Lex told him what happened to Chloe. Three days since he learned the name of the man who took her from him. And Lucas was still filled with the desire to kill. To hunt down Clark Kent and use his bare hands to end that man's life. But even more he was filled with the need to learn more about Chloe Sullivan. Believing that the more he learned about her the more of her he'd have. He'd gone to Lex, but the only information his brother had was how she died. Lucas wanted to know how she lived. He wanted to know the places she'd been and who she was when she was there.

And now thanks to a random memory, he had a name. A family member who'd know more about Chloe Sullivan then Lex. Who could tell him things his brother could not. Lois Lane. He had to find Lois Lane.


End file.
